Waiakea third baseman Korin Medeiros and Hilo first baseman Keenan Nishioka have been on top of the world as teammates. They were on the Hilo All-Star Senior League World Series championship ballclub last summer. Waiakea third baseman Korin Medeiros and
Waiakea third baseman Korin Medeiros and Hilo first baseman Keenan Nishioka have been on top of the world as teammates. They were on the Hilo All-Star Senior League World Series championship ballclub last summer.
The Warriors won the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I state title, and the Vikings finished third. And success has shadowed each senior in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, too.
Both will be teammates again. But things could be much different at their new destination.
Medeiros and Nishioka each signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of Hawaii at Hilo and will try to turn around a program that has posted 20 straight losing seasons.
“I’m hoping this recruiting class, with Korin, too, can turn it around,” Nishioka said. “It’s a pretty decent class coming in. I know of three guys from Oahu: outfielder Cole Nagamine from Campbell, pitcher Micah Witty-Oakland from Pac-Five and Leilehua pitcher Kenan Sadanaga.
“I feel privileged. I was not expecting to get anything to go to college, until UHH offered me. I feel privileged to play for Coach Joey (Estrella).”
UH-Hilo has not released the names of any signed players.
The Vulcans finished 15-33 overall, including 12-27 for second-to-last in the six-team Pacific West Conference.
Nishioka, who received a scholarship that covers more than half of his tuition, also was recruited by Pacific University, a Division III school that offered academic aid. He had a 3.8 grade-point average and plans to major in pre-engineering.
“I want to be a civil engineer, build waterways and roads,” he said. “I like math and science. That’s one of my strengths, and that’s what engineering is about. My uncle, Owen Nishioka, is a civil engineer.”
Nishioka missed seven games during the BIIF season with an injured hamstring. At the time, he was stinging the ball to all fields, an improvement he credited to joining Kaha Wong’s hitting school.
“My game turned around in my senior year. I was hitting the ball harder, and getting faster and stronger,” he said. “For the hitting part, coach Kaha helped me a lot. I’m using my whole body more and hitting with a lot more power.”
He’s seeking more power with a weight-lifting regimen to add muscle to his 6-foot, 185-pound frame. An additional 15 pounds of muscle is his target.
“I’m going to lift weights and eat a lot. I’m coming back from injury, too. I still have to strengthen my right leg,” he said. “The best part is being able to play somewhere in college and have some of my schooling paid for, and also to play baseball and have fun.”
Like Nishioka, Medeiros has a strong desire to play at home. He had scholarship offers from three junior colleges — Lon Morris College in Texas, College of Southern Nevada, and Chemeketa in Salem, Ore. — as well as Pacific and Hawaii Pacific.
